Adam Parrillo

Assistant Professor

Adam Parrillo was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. He has earned a B.S. in Geography (2000), an M.A. in Human Geography (2003), and Ph.D. (2009) in the Social Geography of Urban Development, all from the University of Cincinnati.

TeachingDr. Parrillo has acquired varied teaching experience for over a decade. In positions at the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Georgia Southern University, he instructed courses that include Urban Geography, Human Geography, World Regions, The Americas, NAFTA Nations, Europe, Africa, Geographic Information Systems, People and the Environment, and Cincinnati and the Tri-State Region. Here at UWGB, Dr. Parrillo's courses include Intro to Urban Studies, Human Geography & Concepts, Displays of Geographic Info, World Regions, GIS & the Urban World, Cities in Cinema, and a summer internship in Ecuador.

ResearchDr. Parrillo dubs his research specialty the Social Geography of Urban Development. He is interested in how the processes and institutions of the political economy impact the social conditions of human populations. His doctoral research examines market-based open enrollment policies in public education, their proclivity to segregate student populations upon socioeconomic characteristics, and their relationship to the emergence of the sociopolitical paradigm of Neoliberalism. Dr. Parrillo is currently working on papers examining the rise of universities and medical facilities as agents of economic development and the effects of education on economic sectors across metropolitan areas in the US. In addition to these main streams, he continues to build research programs that intersect with popular culture and the political economy of sports.

Membership and ActivismDr. Parrillo is an active member of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and is a member for the Allouez (WI) Planning Commission. He previously served as Vice President of the Board of Directors and former Life Committee Chair of the Village Life Outreach Project (www.villagelifeoutreach.org), a non-profit organization that organizes multidisciplinary teams of university faculty, health professionals, teachers, students and villagers in development projects in rural Tanzania. Dr. Parrillo believes in “activating your expertise” and continues to search for opportunities to build community through research and education.

The Experience City and the Knowledge City: The Implications of Education on Inequality. Coauthored (Meir Russ, UWGB Cofrin School of Business) Paper Presentation for Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New York, NY. 2012, February.

Rise of the University and Hospital as Agents of Regional Economic Development: A Comparative Analysis. Coauthored (Mark de Socio, Salisbury University) Paper Presentation for Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Seattle, WA. 2011, April.

Magnetizing Public Education: The Polarizing Consequences of Magnet Schools and their Neoliberal Roots. Paper Presentation for Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Washington, D.C. 2010, March.